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In Cedar Rapids, Community Ties That Bind

December 27, 2011

International President Edwin D. Hill presents 100th year plaque to Local 405 Business Manager Bill Hanes.

With only 24 hours in a day and invitations to far more events than they are able to attend, politicians have to carefully choose where and when to grab some time with their constituents or send a staff member in their stead. When many of them show up in the same place, it’s a sign of high respect and influence.

That’s just what happened on Dec. 3, when Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Local 405 held its 100th anniversary celebration. Progressive champion Sen. Tom Harkin (D) was there along with Reps. Bruce Braley (D) and David Loebsack (D).

Rounding out the political delegation were a state senator and four state representatives, Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett, five city council members and four out of five county supervisors.

Local 405 Business Manager Bill Hanes, who is a member of his county and state’s Democratic central committees, said the elected leaders showed up in part because of the local’s leadership role in the community after massive flooding from the Cedar River submerged 10 square miles of the city in 2008, a disaster that has come to be known as “Iowa’s Katrina.”  But Hanes says ongoing hands-on leadership has clinched Local 405’s relationship with public servants.

Says Hanes:

Mike Olson, our registrar, works tirelessly on our local’s behalf. We’re political. Mike and the members we mobilize always let our political leaders know they can come to us for help.

In November, all four candidates endorsed by Local 405, three for city council and a state senator, won election. Hanes says:

We regularly gathered 18 to 20 local members at the union hall on Saturdays to go out and campaign door-to-door. Mike paid particular attention to involving younger members. When the winning candidates came around to thank their supporters, the first thing out of their mouths was recognizing the IBEW’s help.

All three city council candidates support the buy local-build local concept. The fourth candidate, Liz Mathis, a long-time friend of labor who has worked with Local 405 on community projects, won a decisive special election for an open senate seat by a 56-44 percent margin. Democrats currently hold a narrow 26 to 24 vote margin in the senate.  When a Democrat left, it gave anti-labor legislators a shot at split government. Mathis’ victory in a conservative district, says Hanes, was only possible because union voters came out in big numbers.

Building solid relationships between local unions and communities takes time, says Hanes, but the 2008 flood tested the resilience of a whole region. And Local 405 personified the best qualities of neighbor-to-neighbor solidarity. (Home page photo shows Local 405 members with State Senator Liz Mathis, center in sweater, following her victory.)

Immediately after the flood, the Local 405 and Cedar Rapids Local 204, representing utility workers, called a meeting to plan strategy for safely restoring power to residents and large employers, including Quaker Oats and Cargill. Local 405 extended invitations to more than 500 small businesses, representatives from FEMA, city council members and signatory contractors. Says Hanes:

We brainstormed on a game plan for moving forward. We even brought nonunion electrical contractors into the planning. Some local businesses actually operated out of our union hall. We became a hub for getting things done.

Recently, the local union hall was designated as a polling place for future elections, another step in the IBEW’s service to the community. Former adversaries have come around to lend support, says Hanes.

He recalls the local union’s rocky relationship with current Mayor Corbett when he formerly served as Republican speaker of Iowa’s House. Directly after Corbett’s election as mayor, Hanes and other local leaders sat down with him and outlined their priorities and expectations. Corbett, says Hanes, has supported a “buy local-build local” orientation, including project labor agreements.

One day after Corbett’s election, the local held a brunch to bring together residents whose homes were damaged in the flood and rewired by IBEW electricians. The mayor declared the day “IBEW-NECA Day.”

NECA and IBEW have teamed up to fund science, technology, electronics and math programs in the Cedar Rapids area. Members have also donated hours of labor to a local nonprofit promoting healthy child development and a free medical clinic. 

In his remarks to the 100th anniversary celebration, President Edwin D. Hill told members:

At our recently concluded International Convention in Vancouver, delegates approved resolutions calling upon local unionists to reach out to our communities and build healthy relationships with our neighbors …Your heritage of service and commitment refutes any lies that are being told about the labor movement, the true voice of the 99 percent.